NEWSFLASH

VALENZUELA CITY HONORS 'PUTONG
POLO'

Valenzuela City, Nov. 6, 2001
- The Valenzuela City Hall has launched the popular "Putong Polo Festival"
in rites honoring the oldest church in the city, the 378-year-old San Diego
de Alcala Parish Church in Barangay Polo.

To revive the popularity of the local
delicacy "Putong Polo," local officials led by Mayor Bobbit Carlos
and the festival committee organized by Rita Carlos said the week-long
festival was an offering to San Diego de Alcala, the patron saint of the
oldest church in the city.

Carlos said a bazaar and competition
for "Putong Polo" makers complete this year’s festivities.

"Putong Polo," a popular
Filipino delicacy, originated from Valenzuela, formerly known as Polo town
in the 1920s. This local rice cake was a recipient of the Manuel Quezon
Presidential Award as a native delicacy known for its exotic taste and
long shelf life at the Manila Carnival in 1931.

He said the delicacy’s popularity
has not been confined within city limits. "Putong Polo" has been
a regular fare in the posh tables for decades at the Manila Hotel, Sulo
Hotel, Holiday Inn and Aristocrat Restaurant, among others. It is also
still being exported to Hong Kong, Japan and other Asian countries, a source
of precious dollars to buoy up the economy.

A "Putong Polo" parade
will take place in the morning of November 11. It will highlight objects
made from Putong Polo by city residents who joined in a competition using
the delicacy as material. The "masterpieces" will stay at the
San Diego de Alcala Parish patio for a whole-day exhibit.

According to Carlos, the present
San Diego de Alcala church was built over the remains of the oldest church
after it was bombed on February 10, 1945 by American troops trying to liberate
the then town of Valenzuela from the retreating Japanese forces in World
War II. (Jerry Botial )